DRRR Natural Types of Disaster
CHAPTER 1
DISASTER
it is defined as “ a sudden, calamitous event,
bringing great damage, loss, destruction to life and
property”
It can be Natural
earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes.
It can be Human
explosions, nuclear accidents and terrorist acts.
From a socio-cultural perspective
Disaster is defined as “ a serious disruption of the
functioning of society, causing widespread human,
material or environmental losses, which exceed the
ability of the affected people to cope, using their
human resources”
DISASTER RISK
It is defined as “ the probability that a community’s
structure or geographic area is to be damaged or
disrupted by the impact of a particular hazard, on
account of its nature, construction and proximity to
a hazardous area”
In other words, it signifies the possibility of adverse
effects in the future. It is derived from the
interaction of social and environmental processes,
from the combination of physical hazards and the
vulnerability of exposed elements.
Nature of Disasters
NATURAL DISASTERS
These originate from the different “ forces” of the
nature (geological, meteorological,
hydrometeorological and biological).
Natural disaster such as earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, typhoons, and cyclones affect many
countries in Asia
HUMAN-MADE DISASTER
These disaster occur due to people’s action against
human, material and environment. These include
transport and industrial accidents, such as, air and
train crashes, chemical spills, and building
collapses. Terrorism is also categorized as human-
made disaster.
TYPES OF DISASTERS
Disaster can take many different forms and the duration
can range from an hour to days or weeks of ongoing
destruction. Both natural and human-made or
technological in nature that can impact a community.
Agricultural diseases and pest
Storm surge
Drought and water shortage- El Niṅo
Earthquakes
Hurricanes and tropical storms
Landslides and lightning
Tornadoes
Tsunamis
Wild fires
Sinkholes
Emergency diseases (pandamic influenza)
Extreme heat
Floods and flash floods
La Niṅa
Human-made and Technological Types of
Disasters
Hazardous materials
Power service disruption and blackout
Nuclear power plant and nuclear blast
Radiological emergencies
Chemical threat and biological weapons
Cyber attacks
Explosion
Civil unrest
Risk Factors Underlying Disasters
Severity of exposure
The amount of exposure to the disaster is highly
related to risk of future mental problems. At
highest risk are those that go through the disaster
themselves.
Next are those in close contact with victims. At
lower risk of lasting impact are those who only had
indirect exposure, such as news of the severe
damage.
Injury and life threat are factors the lead
most often to mental health problems.
Studies have looked at severe natural
disaster, such as the 1990 earthquake in
Baguio, Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991,
mudslides in Ormoc City, and the 2013
devastating Super Typhoon Yolanda in
Tacloban. The findings show that at least half
 of the survivors suffer from distress or
mental health problems the need clinical
care.
Gender and family
Almost always, women or girls suffer more negative
effects than do men or boys. Disaster recovery is more
stressful when children are present in the home.
Women with spouse also experience more distress
during recovery. Having a family member in the
home who is extremely distress is related to more
stress for everyone.
Martial stress has been found to increase after
disasters. Also, conflicts between family members
or lack of support in the home make it harder to
recover from disasters.
Age
Adults who are in the age range of 40-60 are likely
to be more distressed after disaster. The thinking is
that if one is in that age range, he/she has more
demands from job and family.
Research on how children react to natural disasters
is still limited at this point in time. In general,
children show more severe distress after disasters
than do adults. Higher stress in the parents is
related to worse recovery in children.
Other factors specific to the survivor
We’re not functioning well before the disaster
Have had no experience dealing with disasters
Must deal with other stressors after the disaster
Have poor self-esteem
Think they are uncared for by others
Think they have little control over what happens to
them
Lack the capacity to manage stress
Other factors have also been found to predict
worse outcomes:
Bereavement ( death of someone close)
Injury to self or another family member
Life threat
Panic, horror, or feelings like that during the
disaster
Being separated from family ( especially among
youth)
Great loss of property
Displacement ( being forced to leave home)
Developing countries
There is a strong body of evidence that these risk
factors can be made worse if the disaster occurs in
a developing country. Disasters in developing
countries, like the Philippines, have more severe
mental health impact than do disaster in developed
countries. This is true even less serious disasters.
For example, natural disasters are generally
thought to be less serious than human-caused. In
developing countries, however, natural disasters
have more severe effects than do human-caused
disasters in developed countries.
Low or negative social support
The support of others can be both a risk and a
resilience factor. Social support can weaken after
disasters. This may be due to stress and the need
for members of the support network to get on with
their own lives. Sometimes the responses from
others disaster victims rely on for support are
negative.
For example, someone may play down their
problems, needs, or pain, or expect them to
recover more quickly than is realistic. This is
strongly linked to long term distress in trauma
survivors.
Effects of Natural Disasters on Human Life
Displaced population
Health Risks
Food Scarcity
Emotional aftershocks
How and When an Event Becomes a Disaster
An event, either human-made or natural, becomes
a disaster when it is sudden or progressive, causing
widespread human, material or environmental
losses. A typhoon like Yolanda is a natural
phenomenon. It became a disaster due to several
factors: its strength (290 km./hour); the storm
surge it brought was sudden and unexpected; and
its devastating effect to human, material, and
environment. More than 7,000 people perished.
The entire City of Tacloban was literally flattened
to the ground.
Areas/ Locations Exposed to Hazards
Location Exposed to:
Coastal Areas Surge, Tsunamis
Reclaimed Areas Floods, sinkholes
Near Fault lines Earthquake
Denuded mountains Mudslide/Landslide
Near volcanoes Volcanic eruption
River banks Flooding, flash floods
Open fields Thunderstorm
blizzard
 Near oil depots Oil spill, pollution
Near Mining Projects Toxic waste
Near Chemical Plants Chemical fumes
Chemical waste
Near Nuclear Plants Nuclear waste
Possible technical
failure
leaks
Near Factories Factory waste
Pollution
Unsafe Buildings Fire
Public places Terrorism
Disaster from Different Perspectives
A disaster is a result of a vast ecological breakdown
in the relation between humans and their
environment; a serious or sudden event on such a
scale that the stricken community needs
extraordinary efforts to cope with it, often with
outside help or international aid.
Disaster is analyzed from different perspectives as
follows:
Physical Perspective
From this view disaster is defined as a phenomenon
that can cause damage to physical elements such as
buildings, infrastructures, including people and their
properties, e.g. houses and environment sources of
living. Physical effects are the most visible and
quantifiable effects of a disaster. In assessing the
aftermath of a disaster, physical damages are
essentially considered in data recording.
Psychological Perspective
Psychological research has shown that disaster can
cause serious mental health consequences for
victims. These consequences take the form of Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD) and a variety of
other disorders and symptoms which have been less
investigated. The more stress, defined in a variety of
ways, within the disaster, the more likely there are
to be emotional consequences.
In psychological context a disaster is regarded as an
occurence involving an unexpected or
uncontrollable event rather than a long-term
experience. In other words, a disaster is something
that could happen within a hazard rather than the
hazard itself. Hence , one very important
component of the recovery phase, aside from relief
services is debriefing or psychological support
system.
Other psychological effects of a disaster are the
following:
Emotional effects Physical effects
Cognitive effects Interpersonal effects
Socio-Cultural Perspective
from the socio-cultural point of view, a disaster is
analyzed based on how people repond having as
parameter their social conditions and cultural
setting. These two factors are important
determinants of the degree of risk, resilience and
vulnerability of those affected. That is why some
ethnic groups can easily cope with disaster
compared to other groups.
Economic Perspective
From an economic perspective, a natural disaster
can be defined as a natural event that causes a
perturbation to the functioning of the economic
system, with a significant negative impact on
assets, production factors, output, employment
and consumption. One salient component of
assessing the impact of disaster impact from this
view is defining direct economic cost and indirect
losses.
Political perspective
Political considerations before, during, and after a
natural disaster can determine who is most at risk,
who can intervene, what actions will be taken, and
who will benefit from those actions. Some case
studies demonstrate that economic, social, and
political factors can significantly amplify the
devastating impact of a natural disaster.
Governmentality or deliverance of government
services to constituents can be a plus or minus
factor in disaster risk reduction and management.
Government interventions should be present in
following phases of Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management:
Prevention Preparedness
Recovery Mitigation
Environment Perspective
Disaster not only reveal underlying social,
economic, political, and environmental problems,
but unfortunately contribute to worsening them.
Such events pose serious challenges to
development, as they erode hard-earned gains in
terms of political, social and educational progress,
as well as infrastructure and technological
development. The Mellennium Declaration
recognized the risk to development stemming from
disaster and calls on the global community to
“intensify our collective efforts to reduce the
number and effects of natural hazards and man-
made disasters”. Several studies have recently
highlighted the fact that investments in
development are in jeopardy unless precautionary
action is taken toward reducing disaster risk.
CHAPTER 2
EXPOSURE AND VULNERABILITY
The severity of the impacts of disasters and other
extreme weather and climate events depends
strongly on the level of vulnerability and exposure
to these events.
Trends in vulnerability and exposure are major
drivers of changes in disaster risk and of impacts
when risk is realized. Understanding the
multifaceted nature of vulnerabilty and exposure is
a prerequisite for determining how natural hazards
and climate events contribute to the occurrence of
disasters, and for designing and implementing
effective adaptation and disaster risk management
stategies.
Elements Exposed to Hazard
Exposure refers to the ‘elements at risk’ from a
natural or man-made hazard event. Elements at risk
include the following:
Human beings;
Dwellings or households and communities;
Buildings and structures;
Public facilities and infrastructure assets;
Public and transport system;
Agricultural commodities;and
Environmental assets.
Elements at risk can also refer to intangible
elements such as economic activities and
infrastructure networks.
Vulnerability is defined as “the characteristics and
circumstances of a community, system or asset
that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of
a hazard”. As indicated by United Nations
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
(UNISDR). “There are many aspects of vulnerability
arising from various physical, social, economic, and
environmental factors.
Examples may include poor design and constuction
of buildings, limited official recognation of risks and
preparedness measures, and disregard for wise
environmental management”.
Reasons Why Certain Sectors are More Vulnerable
to Disaster than Others
• Vulnerability can be seen as the
result of a process in which various
different things cause a population to
be more vulnerable.
1.Demographic factors
Population density - The more dense the population,
the more efficient a response should be, considering
the number of people that might be affected by a
disaster
Age of population - Very old and very young
populations are less mobile and able to respond to
hazard events well. This makes them more
vulnerable compared to others, and this requires
more attention from the government and other
support agencies especially during emergency
evacuation or relocation.
Distribution of population - regardless of density,
populations may be distributed differently within
the hazard area, e.g elderly people on lower floors
of apartment buildings, or concentrations of highly
vulnerable people on poorer areas of a city.
2. Socio-economic factors
Wealth - Low income populations are less likely to
be well prepared. Part of preparation is having a
Survival Kit that includes tools to be used,
emergency food stock and water that could last for
at least 3 to five days.Poor families will find a hard
time to do such preparation due to lack of money to
spend.
Education - Education programs such as the Metro
Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) shake crill
can instuct populations on how to deal with hazard
events
Nature of society - In highly centralized government
structures,efficient emergency response may be
the result of careful planning and training of
personnel.
Understanding of the area - Understanding the area
is a salient factor to be considered in Disasters
Preparedness Planning, and this will give greater
advantage to the established or original settlers in a
particular area affected by disaster.
3. Community preparedness
Building codes - Rigorous and applied building codes
protect most buildings from collapse during
earthquakes. This should be seriously considered by
the government in the issuance of building permits
and licenses for land development.
Scientific monitoring and early warning systems-
Established monitorinf system can prepare people
for the onslaught of any kind disaster.
Communication networks - Countries with
good quality and widespread communication
networks allow messages to be quickly
shared. Communication plays a very
 important and crucial role in times of
disaster. Communication Plan is a very
salient component of Emergency Planning
that should not be left out.
Emergency planning - Preparation is the key
element of prevention.Preparation for a disaster is
embodied in an Emergency Plan. Where monitoring
and communication are in place,the emergency
planning is likely to prepare a person or a group
(family) for such events and take action based on
data,rather than prediction.
4. Dealing with the after-effects
Insurance cover- Another important aspects of
preparation is how to deal with the after effects of a
disaster. Disasters,like earthquakes and typhoons,
normally inflict damages to life, property and even
to environmental sources of living. Part of their
preparation, individuals purchase insurance policies
to mitigate their losses.thus preparing them better
for similar future events.
Emergency personnel- These are trained for
community preparedness. The availability of such
personnel will vary depending on the time of day
and location of the hazard event.
Aid request- Outside help in the form of
humanitarian aid is necessary during a disaster.
However, it should be fast and effecient.
Ineffeciency and mismanagement of aids, especially
foreign aids,will posibbly result to further deaths
and loss of propety.
Vulnerability to Specific Hazards
There are many aspects of vulnerability,arising from
various physical, social, economic, and
environmental factors. Examples may include:
Poor design and construction of buildings and other
infrastures
Inadequate protection measures of assets;
Lack of public information and awarness;
Limited official recognation of risks and
preparedness measures,and
Disregard for wise environmental management.
(ADPC, 2012)
APDC further emphasized tht Vulnerability varies
significant within a community and over time. This
definition identifies vulnerability as a characteristic
of the element of interest ( communiy, system or
asset ) which is independent of irs exposure.
However, in common use, the word is often used
more broadly to include then element’s exposure.
(4)main types of vulnerabliity:
1.Physical vulnerability - May be determined by
aspects such as population density levels,
remoteness of a settlement, the site, design and
materials used for critical infrastructure and for
housing
2.Social vulnerability - Refers to the inability of
people,organizations and societies to withstand
adverse impacts to hazards due to characteristics
inherent in social interactions, institutions and
systems of cultural values. It is linked to the level of
well being of individuals, communities and society.
It includes aspects related to levels of literacy and
education, the existence of peace and security,
access to basic human rights, systems of good
governance,s ocial equity, positive traditional
values, customs and ideological beliefs and overall
collective organizational systems
3.Economic vulnerability - The level of vulnerabilty
is highly dependent upon the economic status of
individuals ,communities and nations. The poor are
usually more vulnerable to disasters because they
lack the resources to build sturdy structures and
put other engineering measures in place to protect
themselves from being negatively impacted bt
disasters. The same people are the least prepared
due to lack of access to education and information.
4.Environmental vulnerability- Natural resource
depletion and resource degradation are key
aspects of environmental vulnerability. This is one
aspect that both communities and government
must be sensitive about.Mitigation measures like
reforestation and natural resource protection and
conservation must be undertaken to reduce
natural disaster risk and vulnerability.
Elements at Risk and Exposed to Hazards
Risk Factors
Risk signifies the possibility of adverse effects
in the future. It is derived from the interaction
of social and environmental processes, fromthe
combination of physica l hazards and the
vulnerabilities of exposed elements. The f
ollowing is a discussionof the three factors of
risk presented in a Traigram
 Earthquake  Engineering
 Tsunami  Economic
 Cyclones  Social
 Bushfires
 Landslides RISK
 Volcanoes
Exposure
 People
 Buildings
 Businesses
 Infrastructure
Risk = Hazard x Exposure x Vulnerability
Capacity
The left side of the Triagram shows the different
natural hazards that may occur in an area at any
given period of time. The base of the Triagram
indicates the different elements exposed to
hazard/disaster. On the right side, factors and
elements of vulnerability are presented.
Philippine Exposure and Vulnerabilities to Natural
Disasters
According to a report, eight of 10 world cities most
exposed to natural hazards are in the Philippines
and more than half of the 100 cities most exposed
to earthquakes, storms and other disasters are in
four Asian nations, according to a
research.(Philippine Star,2014).
The study, published by risk analysis firm Verisk
Maplecroft, analyzed the threat posed by storms ,
floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, volcanoes and
landslides in more than 1,300 cities.
The study found that the 10 cities most at risk are
Port Vila in Vanuatu followed by Tuguegarao in
Cagayan, Lucena in Quezon provine, (4) Manila, (5)
San Fernando in Pampanga, (6) Cabanatuan in
Nueva Ecija, (7) Batangas, (8)Taipei, (9)San Carlos
(The report did not indicate which province in the
Phillipines but most likely in Pangasinan).and 10
Naga in Bicol Region.
The study also found that of the 100 cities with the
greatest exposure to natural hazards, 21 are in the
Philippines, 16 in China, 11 in Japan and 8 in
Bangladesh.
Philippine Vulnerabilities to Natural Disasters
The following bullet statements explain why the
philippines is vulnerable to natural disasters
specifically from the effects of climate change
(Climate Change primer Manuscript, 2014):
the Philippines lies in the Pacific typhoon belt and
we are visited by an average of 20 typhoons every
year.
The rugged nature of our landscape makes our
communities very vulnerable to
landslides,mudflows and other disasterd.
The Philippine is an archipelagic country with
many small islands.
Many of out areas are also at or below sea level,
and this makes us vulnerable to flooding nad worst,
inundatio with rise in sea level.
With one of the longest coaslines in the world at
32,400 kilometers, we have many areas thar are
vulnerable to storm surges.
The Philippines is still a primarily agricultural and
fishing economy.discruptions in agricultural and
fishery production and distruction of our
ecosystems will have devastating effects on our
economy and food security.
Natural hazard risk is compounded in the Philippines
by poor institutional and societal capacity to
managed, respond and recover from natural hazard
events.
The Philippines is considered “high risk” in terms of
the countrys abilityu to manage and mitigate the
impacts of natural hazard and in part due to
“entrenched corruption and high levels of
poverty”(Rappler,2014)
Aside from being at risk to typhoons,the philippines
is also at risk to volcanic eruptions (we have active
volcanoes), quakes (several fault lines were
identified) and floods (we have denuded
mountains).
CHAPTER 3
BASIC CONCEPT OF HAZARD
HAZARDS -are those elements of the physical
environment , harmful to man caused by forces
extraneous to him ( Burton et al 1978 Standard
Australia (2000) defines hazard as:
“ A sorce of potential harm or a situation with a
potential to cause loss.”
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center
(ADPC)describe hazard as :
“ A natural event that has the potential
to cause harm or loss.”
USGS Hazard Terminologies defines hazard as:
“ A phenomenon or a situation , which
has the potential to cause the disruption
or damage to people , their property ,
their services , and teir environment.”
*Most hazards are dormant or potential with only
a theoritical risk of harm.However, once a hazard
becomes “active” it can create an emergency.
INCIDENT – it is a hazardous situation that has
come to pass
* Hazard and possibility interact together to
create risk.
 GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF HAZARDS: PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT

1. Natural hazards – such as earthquakes or - grief and psychological trauma- Post Traumatic
floods arise from purely na tural processes in the Severe Disorder ( PTSD )
environment
- marital conflicts
2.Quasi- Natural hazards – such as smog or
desertification that arise through the interaction of - depression due to loss of loved ones and
natural processes and human activities. properties

3. Technological ( or human-made)hazards such as - Chronic anxiety among children severely affected

the toxicity of pesticides to agricultural lands, SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPACT
accidental leaks of chemicals from chemical
laboratories or radiation from a nuclear plant.These - displacement of populations
arise directly as the result of hyman activities.
- loss of cultural identity
TYPES OF HAZARDS:
- forced adoption of new sets of culture
ATMOSPHERIC ( Single Element)- excess rainful ,
freezing rain ( glaze) , hail , Heavy snow falls , high - ethnic conflicts
wind speeds , extreme temperature ECONOMIC IMPACT
ATMOSPHERIC (Combined Elements/ Events) -
- loss of job due to displacement
hurricanes , glaze storm , thunderstorms , Blizzards ,
tornadoes , heat/ cold stress - loss of harvest and livestock
2.HYDROLOGIC - floods ( river and coastal area) , - loss of farms , fish cages , and other source of
wave action , drought , rapid glacier advance living
3. GEOLOGIC - loss of money and other valuables like jewelries ,
furniture and appliances
- mass movement
landslides ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
mudslides
avalanche - LOSS OF FORESTS DUE TO FOREST FIRES
- earthquake
- loss of fresh water due to salination – intrusion of
- volcanic eruption
salt water to fresh water resources
- rapid sediment movement
- disturbance of biodiversity
4. BIOLOGIC
- loss of natural rivers and other tributaries
- epidemic in humans
- epidemic in plants BIOLOGICAL IMPACT
- epidemic in animals
- locusts - EPIDEMIC TO PEOPLE , FLORA AND FAUNA

- chronic and permanent illnesses due to nuclear

5.TECHNOLOGIC radiation
- transportation accident , industrial explosions - mental disorder developed from consumption of
and fire , accidental release of toxic elements , contaminated foods
nucllear accidentss , collapse of buildings , cyber
terrorism - proliferation of different viral and bacterial
diseases
THE FOLLOWING ARE COMMON LONG TERM
IMPACTS OF NATURAL HAZARDS LIKE EARTHQUAKE
, TYPHOON , FLASHFLOOD , VOLCANIC ERUPTION ,
FIRE , ETC.

PHYSICAL IMPACT

-death of people

- destruction and loss of vital infrastructure like

transport system , roads, bridges ,power lines and
communication lines

- widespread loss of housing

 UCSP IDENTITY

Culture in society

Refers to the ways of life living in a society or to

thegroup of people found in a society it includes
values, norms, customs , religions, ceremonies,
show the way they dress, eat , drink, etc.

 Includes all the behaviors and structure in

our lives
 Culture compramises both intangible aspects
(belief , ideas, & values) which from are
content of culture and tangible aspect
(object, symbol & technology) which
represent the content.
Values and Norms
 in all cultures are the ideas which define
what is considered important & desirable
 norms and values work together to shape of
how members of culture behave withing
their everyday life
 every culture differ from each other by value
& norm
Cultural Diversity

 the diversity of human behavior, cultural

beliefs, & practices forms are so remarkable
in a society
 acceptable form of behavior vary widely
from culture to culture and often contrast
dramatically from what people in western
people consider “normal”
 Monoculture structure is formed generally
in small societies
 Subculture do not refer only to ethnic and
linguistic group within a large society, they
concern any segments of population which
are distinguishable

ETHNOCENTRISM
 Every culture has its own unique patternsof
behavior, which seem alien to people from
other cultural backgrounds
CULTURE SHOCK
 Often people feel disoriented when they
become immersed in a new culture
SOCIALIZATION
 the process by which the children, new
people of the society learn the way of life of
their society
 primary channel for the transmission of
cultural overtime
Primary Socialization
 is the time when children learn language and
basic behavioral patterns which from the
foundation for latter learning
 family is the main agent
Secondary Socialization
 other agents recognize their responsibility as
part of the family
Social Interaction
 help the people understand the norms, values and
beliefs which make up the culture.